BUDGET: GERMANY ESCAPES EXTRA CONTRIBUTIONS.

Germany will avoid having to make higher budget contributions this year after Luxembourg and Belgium finally ratified the new system of own resources for the EU Budget. The two countries completed the ratification procedure, thus signing up to Decision 2000/597/EC amending Decision 94/728/EC on the own resources system. This means that the new scheme can enter into force on March 1. Berlin had complained about this to its partners (see European Report 2642). The Council Decision of September 19, 2000 follows the Berlin European Council's agreement in March 1999, which had added to the Agenda 2000 agreement a compromise concerning...